Pauper Lunatic Asylum
by Balkan Sobranie
Summary: A Hermione and Fred love story. Will start off fairly light hearted but will probably become much darker as it progresses. Begins in the summer of Hermione's sixth year. Reviews are welcome! Drugs become a big part of the story
1. Satisfaction for life

This is my very fist fanfic! So, constructive criticism is, of course, welcomed. Only constructive, however. I don't want to be told that my story sucks and not be told why. Compliments, if deserved, are welcome

At the moment, I do not have a beta and anybody interested will be greatly appreciated. So, I will have to make do with reading over everything myself.

Hope you enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: As much as I wish to be the brilliant mind to own all of these characters, I am not. I simply own the story line and a few extras.

Chapter One

Hermione was bored. She didn't actually remember being this bored since before she'd first joined Hogwarts and that was literally years ago. She stretched her sixteen-year-old body out in the sun as she wondered what to do. She missed her muggle friends. Ron and Harry were great friends but they had vanished just after lunch to go play Quidditch and she had been left alone to sunbathe. Ginny had gone shopping with Mrs. Weasley for new dress robes and neither were expected back before suppertime.

She sighed, thinking of her muggle friends. They had actually wanted to go on a road trip with her this summer. However, the only time they could all get off work was at the end of September, when she would be back at school. Sometimes it sucked being the only one in school in a group full of friends who were working.

Suddenly, Hermione sat up straight. Why didn't she just go visit them? They weren't that far away, perhaps half an hour by train ride, and she was sure she had some muggle money up in the room she shared with Ginny. She grinned. It was perfect. Why hadn't she thought of it before?

She got up and made her way over to lopsided house. Inside the kitchen, it was much cooler as the Weasley's always cast cooling charms throughout the house during the summer. The house was strangely quiet, as everyone seemed to be off doing his or her own thing. Mr. Weasley, the unlucky man, still had to work while his children were on holiday and she wasn't entirely sure where the twins were. This mystery was solved as she walked past the room they shared. Bang came from behind their door, followed by a long whistle and then abrupt silence.

"Less dragon's blood next time, Fred." Said a voice.

"Yeah, and perhaps a little more salt snails." Another voice responded.

Hermione smiled to herself as she entered Ginny's room. Lord knows what those two were making now. She put on a pair of muggle jeans and a T-shirt and grabbed some money. She returned to the kitchen to find both Fred and George nursing cups of tea. They stopped their conversation when she entered.

One of them whistled. "Well look what we have here, Forge." He said.

"We happen to have a Granger here, Gred." The other twin said.

"Who appears to be dressed in muggle clothes."

"And who appears to be going somewhere."

The two glanced at each other. "Where ever could it be?" They asked simultaneously.

Hermione smiled. "Knock it off you two," She said, "I'm going to visit a few muggle friends. I'll be back later tonight. Would you tell Mrs. Weasley I probably won't be back for supper?"

"Not so fast, Granger." One of the twins said, standing up. She though it might be George.

"We want to know where you're going." Said Fred as the two ran to stand in front of her and the door.

"I told you," Hermione said with raised eyebrows. "I'm going to visit some friends."

"But that just won't do, Granger." Said Fred.

"What is something happens to our beloved bookworm?" Asked a wide-eyed George.

"Whatever will the Boy-who-lived do without you?"

"We simply can not allow that to happen."

Hermione laughed. "Really guys, I'll be fine."

"You know it's okay to tell us if you're scared." Said George with a grin.

"I guess we could take some time off from our very important business to protect you from the big bad muggle world." Fred said with a shrug.

"But it's going to cost you." George winked as he said it.

Hermione sighed. "Honestly you two," She said. "If you want to come along, just say so."

"I dunno, George. What do you think?" Said Fred in mock ernesty

"Really, Fred, we have so many important things that we should be doing…"George pretended to think.

Hermione growled in frustration and pushed past the two. "Well I'm going, whether you guys are coming or not." She said.

"Now hold it," said George, chasing after her.

"We didn't say we weren't coming," Said Fred coming up behind the two.

Hermione turned to appraise the two. "Well you guys had better change," She said, "Or you'll be raising a few eyebrows."

Fred and George turned to face each other. "As much as I like raising eyebrows…" Fred began.

"Perhaps she is right…" Finished George.

"We'll be back now!" They said together and raced into the house. Hermione sighed and sat down on the grass. This was taking longer than she'd expected. If the guys didn't hurry, they'd all miss the train and she didn't know when the next one would come along. Soon, they were with her again, looking surprisingly similar to muggles.

"You guys ready?" She said with a smile.

"Yup, so where are we apparating you to?" Asked Fred.

"Apparate? I was going to take the train…" She said with a frown.

"Well yeah, you would've needed to if we weren't with you," Said George.

"But we can legally apparate." Finished Fred.

"Yeah, okay, why not?" Hermione said with a smile.

She gave them a street name and soon the three of them were standing in a dingy alleyway.

"Um, Granger," One of the twins began.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Asked the other with a frown.

Hermione laughed. "It's not a great area," She said, "But they live just around the corner." She led them around the corner, into a wider street. This road wasn't much cleaner but it was wider and sunnier. The twins looked around the area curiously as they followed their bushy haired friend. Further down the street, in the opposite direction they were going, several people sat playing loud music and talking loudly.

"Granger?" A twin said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What's that noise?" Asked the other twin.

"That noise? Oh, coming from the box that they're sitting around?" She asked. And the twins nodded. "Oh, that's just a muggle music machine. It's called a CD player."

"A cid player?" George crinkled his nose as he said it.

"C-D," Said Hermione clearly. "You'll see more at the flat." Suddenly something seemed to dawn on her. "Wait, I don't know how to tell you guys apart. My friends will be really suspicious if I can't even remember the difference between you two." She said with a frown.

"Ah ha!" Said Fred."

"We already thought about that." George said proudly.

"Green for George." Fred pointed at his brother's green shirt.

"And Firey Red for Fred." George said, pointing at Fred's Red shirt.

Hermione laughed. "That's brilliant." She said as she led them up several stairs to the entrance of a building of flats. "Well, here we are." The three of them looked up at the dingy building. Two windows up and to the left of the entrance door, a rope hung out of on of the windows. From the same window, loud music could be heard. She sighed. "The door bell's broken again." She said.

"How do you know?" Asked George.

"The door bell breaks a lot here so the guys got sick of using their cell phones to always call to be let in. One of them came up with an idea of attaching a rope to a broom that people pull to attract attention if they want to be let in." Hermione said as she climbed onto the stair railing, trying to reach the rope.

"Wait – cell phones?" Fred asked with a frown.

"Never mind." Hermione said, "I'll explain another time". She finally managed to reach the rope and pulled, causing a loud banging noise to be heard. There was silence for a moment and Hermione was about to pull the rope again when a mop of brown hair surrounding a face popped out the window.

"Welcome to Harry's Happy Home of Homosexuals! We hope to full – wait, Hermione, is that you?" The man shouted down to them.

"Yeah, now let me in, you twat!" She called back and the twins exchanged surprised looks.

The head disappeared to for a moment, only to pop back, followed by three other heads. "Hermione!" Two new voices called down to her.

The other guy, a black fellow, called out, "My sweet Juliet! Thou hast returned to me!"

Hermione could see that the twins were beginning to get a bit uncomfortable and called up, "Come on guys, let us in."

"You've brought Ginger-vitus to our door!" Cried the first, brown haired man.

"Be nice, guys. They're friends of mine." Hermione scolded.

"Friends? By God, we'd better let them in before they vanish!" One of the other guys, a blonde haired man, called.

"About bloody time." Said Hermione as the four heads withdrew.

The twins grinned cheekily at her, "Before we vanish, eh?" One of them asked. They both, however, jumped back when the door made a buzzing sound.

"Come on then." Hermione said as she pushed open the door and led them into a dark entranceway, then up to the second floor.

Hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Smoking Dust

Chapter Two: Smoking Dust

The twins and Hermione walked down a dingy hallway and into a small lounge. The first thing Fred and George noticed about the place was it's smell. It was a mixture of off food, unclean laundry and something they couldn't quite place.

The second thing they noticed was the three other guys in the room. Hermione was busy hugging one of them, the brown haired man who'd originally started yelling out the window at them. The blonde haired man was sitting on a couch in by one of the walls, engrossed in a thick book. The last man sat in front of a box with moving pictures in front of it.

Hermione motioned for the twins to come forward from the door and said, "Guys, this is Fred and George." She waved to each of them respectively. "Fred, George, these are the guys. This is Raphael," the brown haired man took a step forward and shook each of their hands. "Then this is Frank," The blonde haired man briefly looked up from his book to give them a welcoming smile but Hermione quickly moved on, "And this is Stan." The black man who sat in front of the box with moving pictures stood up and gave them a little bow.

"I thought you were gone for the next few months, Mione?" Stan said as he sat back down.

"Yeah, I thought I would be but found myself with some free time and thought I'd come visit." She went to sit next to him and they appeared to strike up a conversation about the box with moving pictures. The twins were intrigued by it but before they had a chance to make their way over to it, Raphael had planted himself before them.

"You guys play football?" He asked.

The room went silent as everyone waited for the answer.

Finally it was Fred who surprised Hermione by saying, "Yeah, we used to but haven't played for years…"

Raphael broke into a broad grin and led Fred away, talking about various positions and teams. Fred looked slightly confused but managed to hold up a halfway decent conversation about a sport he barely knew. George turned to Frank on the couch who appeared to be studying him. "Gottfried Leibniz?" He asked. Franks grinned and the two quickly became involved in an intense conversation about philosophy.

Stan leaned over to Hermione and quietly said, "So how do you tell the difference between your boyfriend and his brother?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Is that your round about why of asking if I'm dating on of them?" She asked.

He grinned cheekily at her, "You know it's okay if you're dating them both. I've heard of people doing that before." He wriggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"Stan!" She said and punched his arm.

Before Stan had a chance to respond, a loud voice boomed across the room. "Hermione! Where the bloody hell have you been?" A large blonde man asked as he came into the lounge.

"Andy!" Hermione shouted as she rushed at the man. He gave her such a bug hug, it looked like she was having trouble breathing. "I only saw you a few days ago, you chop." She said when he finally released her.

"Yeah, I know, but I lost my smoking buddy." He said and elbowed her in the ribs.

"What are you talking about, Andy? Frank and Stan smoke just as much as I do." She said giving him a confused look.

"Yeah, but neither of them do half as much random shit as you do." He grinned at her

Hermione laughed, "True," She said. "What would you say to smoking now?"

"I'd say I thought you'd never ask." Andy said as he dragged her over to a dresser in the corner. He began to pull several things out of a draw. "Do your friends smoke?" He asked her.

"I don't know," She said biting her lip, "Hey George, do you guys smoke?"

George looked up in confusion. "Smoke?" He said, "As in cigars and pipes?"

Hermione grinned. "Close," She said, "But not quite."

Andy began to roll the joint and Hermione took a seat next to George and Frank. "This is good stuff, man," Andy said. "It's high grade shit." He stopped when he saw George's confused expression. "You seriously never smoked weed before?" He asked.

George looked a little uncomfortable, "Well I've smoked a cigar before…" He said.

Frank laughed, "High class," He said. "But this stuff is better any day."

Hermione smiled. "Just try it," She said, "And if you don't like it, you don't need to bother with it ever again."

"Hell," Said Stan, "Sometimes I wish I hadn't tried it. My mum's been going on about sending me for a drug test for weeks!" Everyone laughed though George looked like he was unsure of what he was laughing about.

"Ze mazter peize iz ready!" Said Andy, attempting a French accent.

"Dude you're still failing at that French accent." Said Hermione as she took the joint and lit it. Soon, the sweet earthly smell fulled the room. Everyone seemed to relax, the conversation flowing easily. Half way through the joint Hermione got up and left the room. She came back with a bowl of water in her hands, followed by Fred and Raphael.

"I can't believe you chops didn't call us." Said Raphael, snatching up the joint from Frank's hand. He inhaled deeply before passing it to Fred. Fred glanced to George and Hermione who nodded slightly with smiles on their faces.

A silence enveloped the room and everyone seemed to disappear into their own little worlds until finally, George noticed Hermione was drinking the water from the bowl in her hands. "Uh, Hermione," He said. "Why aren't you using a cup?"

Raphael sighed. "Because SOMEONE hasn't washed the dishes and that's the only clean thing." He said with a glare towards Andy.

Andy looked guilty for a moment, "I'll do it just now, I promise." He said as he smoked some more of the joint.

Stan laughed and took the joint from Andy, "You two are like a married couple." He teased.

Andy and Raphael both started protesting: "I wouldn't need to nag if he just did it." Raphael said.

While Andy was saying, "If he'd just chill out, it would all be fine."

It looked like it was going to turn into a full blown argument when Frank suddenly got up and moved across the room to a small box. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen fulled the room and Raphael and Andy fell silent.

"Woah." Said Fred and George together.

Hermione sent them a pointed glance but Frank just smiled at them. "It's a good song, man." He said.

"Man Frank, sometimes I think you're a little too obsessed with the seventies." Said Stan, "But I gotta hand it to you, this is good."

The rest of the evening was spent in light hearted conversation. Finally, Hermione stood up. "Well, it was awesome seeing you guys," She said, "but I recon we should get going. Cheers!" She promtly walked out the door without looking back.

Fred and George exchanged surprised looks. "Does she always just leave like that?" Asked Fred.

"Yeah, she does. It was cool meeting you guys ey." Said Andy.

"If you're ever in the neighbourhood, come visit. There's usually someone around." Stan said as he shook the twin's hands.

"I guess we'd better make sure she's okay." Said George.

"Oh, she will be," Said Raphael, "If I know Hermione, she's got at least two knives hidden somewhere on her. She's always fine."

The twins exchanged surprised looks and still ran to catch up with her once they were out the door. Finally, they reached where she was standing and waiting for them. "My lady," Said Fred, offering his arm to her.

"Thank you, good sir," she said, taking his arm and with a small pop, they were standing back on the Weasley property.

George glanced up towards the moon. "How late is it anyway?" He asked.

"I dunno," Said Fred but lets hope mom's not awake when we sneak in.

"I told you guys to leave a note!" Hermione hissed at them.

"We were a little busy." Said Fred.

"Trying to keep you from leaving by your self and all." George included.

The three crept towards the crooked house, trying to be as quiet as possible. They climbed through a kitchen window and stood in silence for a moment, waiting to hear for any movement from upstairs. There was none.

"Great," Whispered Fred, "Now we've just got to get upstairs and -"

What Fred was going to say was never heard because at that moment, Molly Weasley turned on the lights to with a flick of her wand to glare at them.

"Hello mum." Said George with a weak smile.

"Don't you hello mum me!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" Where in Merlin's name were you? You can't just go wondering off at any old time! We are in a war! What is you had been caught by Deatheaters? And taking Hermione with you! It's completely unforgivable! I don't know how you managed to corrupt her but -"

"Mrs. Weasley, it really wasn't their fault -"

Mrs. Weasley snorted. "Nonse, dear. Now off with you to bed, I've got to deal with these two."

"But -"

"Don't worry about it, Hermione," Said George.

"We'll be fine." Fred said and squeezed her shoulder.

Hermione slipped past Mrs. Weasley and turned to the two. Fred gave her a winked but Mrs. Weasley was already too far into another rant to notice.


	3. The end of the party

Hey all, I'm really sorry about the rediculously long time it's taken me to update. I've been upgrading my computer and it seems like everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. But that's all sorted now .

Thanks to all you awesome people out there who reviewed. The positive feedback was just beautiful.

And now? On with the story!

Chapter Three:

End of the Party

Hermione lay on her bed and stared up at the roof of the room she shared with Ginny. She was waiting for the twins to get back from their trip to the muggle town. They'd gone to try find some weed. Both the twins had raved about it after the trip to Hermione's friends. Finally, after Mrs Weasley had calmed down enough to let them out of her sight again, the twins had decided to get some more. Hermione had wanted to go with them to make sure that they would get some good stuff but Mrs. Weasley had kept her well supplied with meaningless little jobs to do.

"Hey Mione," Said Ginny as she came into the room, "We're about to go down to the lake for a swim. Do you wanna come with?"

"Who's all going?" Asked Hermione, hoping that the twins had gotten back already.

"Oh, just me, Harry and Ron." Said Ginny, "And you, if you want to me?"

"Oh," Hermione said as she slumped back, "Na, it's okay then. I think I'll stay behind to finish up on my reading."

"Really," Said Ginny as she straightened up from the chest of draws where she was getting her swimming costume out, "What book are you reading?"

Hermione glanced around for a book but surprisingly, found none. "Uh, I guess I left it in the lounge." She said looking slightly guilty.

Ginny gave her an odd look. "You know, the guys miss you." She said.

"What are you talking about?" Asked Hermione. "I've been here the whole summer."

"Yeah, but you've either been doing chores for mum or hanging out with Fred and George." Ginny said.

"I can't help it if your mum's giving me a lot of chores at the moment, Gin." Hermione protested.

"Yeah, but you can help what you do in your spare time." Ginny said as she left with costume and towel in hand.

Hermione sighed. Perhaps she wasn't spending enough time with Harry and Ron. But to be honest, she didn't really feel like spending so much time with them anymore. Sure, she still wanted to be friends with them but after six years, she didn't think it would hurt to make a few other friends.

Suddenly, the door flew open. "Hello my bushy haired friend." Said George with a smile.

"Look what we've got for you." Fred grinned as he held up a little bag.

Hermione bounced up and grabbed the bag. She opened it and inhaled. "Not bad," she said, "Not as good as some stuff but for your first time buying, not bad at all."

The boys grinned. "Listen to the know-it-all," Said Fred.

"Bet she didn't know we had friends in places." George replied with a grin.

Hermione laughed. "I'm not sure I even want to know who your friends are," She said, "But I do know one thing."

"You love us," Said George.

"You want to marry us," Fred chimmed in.

"You can't live without us."

"You want to worship our feet."

"What? No." Hermione said with a laugh. "I want to get high."

"Yes!" The twins chorused.

"Only one problem," Said Fred

"We forgot to get that stuff that you roll it in." Said George.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Hermione said, "I've got some left over in my bag."

"Awesome!" The twins said."

"Get your stuff then Mione, we can't smoke in here." Said Fred.

"No worries," Said Hermione as she dug through her bag trying to find the rizzler. "So where are we going?"

"We're going to the woods by the lake." George said.

"Why don't we go for a swim afterwards?" Hermione asked as she straitened up. "The others are already down there, we could join them."

"Great idea!" The twins said, "We'll be back!"

Hermione quickly changed into her costume and slipped the dress she'd been wearing before over it. Soon, she and the twins set off into the woods. They found a secluded spot and sat down on a log.

Hermione rolled the joint for them and lit it with the tip of her wand. She inhaled, then breathed out a lung full of smoke. "It's actually pretty good." She said as she passed it to George.

George took a drag and passed the joint onto Fred. "That feels pretty good." He said as he moved onto the ground and leant his head back onto the log he'd been sitting on.

Fred passed the joint back to Hermione. "And we have you to thank for this." He said.

Hermione blushed. "I don't know what you mean." She said.

"Well," said George, "If you hadn't taken us to meet your friends…"

"Then we would've never tried this." Said Fred.

Hermione laughed. "Well no problem, then," She said, "You guys were fine. Though I do have one question. How on earth did you know what football is?"

"Oh," Said Fred with a chuckle, "We used to play it with the muggles in the town. We were young but we managed to pick up a few things."

They continued to smoke for a while. Eventually, the joint was finished and Hermione got up and stretched. "What do you guys think of a swim?" She asked.

"Yes!" The twins said as they bounced up.

"I'll race you to the lake!" George yelled and immediately set off in a sprint.

Hermione was surprised to see Fred had stayed behind. "You not amped to race?" She asked him.

"Na," Fred said, "I'm kinda happy to just amble along at the moment." He smiled down at her and she smiled up at him.

George soon broke their moment though. He came sprinting back to them. "No fair!" He said. "We're supposed to be racing!"

"I think you're on your own for this race, George," Said Hermione.

"Not for long!" Said George with a wicked glint in his eye. He effortlessly lifted her up onto his shoulder and raced off towards the lake with Hermione shrieking on his shoulder. Finally, they burst through the clearing where the lake was. Harry, Ron and Ginny stared to see Hermione slung over one of the twin's shoulder like a rag doll.

"George!" Hermione demanded. "Put me down this instant!"

George started to wade out into the lake. "Are you sure, Hermione?" He said with a grin.

Hermione gasped. "Don't you dare drop me, George Weasley!" She yelled.

"Girls," Said George. "They can never make up their minds." With that he dropped her into the lake. Hermione disappeared below the water before surfacing, sluttering and gasping.

"You are in so much trouble George!" Hermione yelled as everyone else laughed. Hermione walked to the bank and began to peel off her wet clothes to reveal a black bikini. She didn't notice Ron or Fred's looks but Harry did.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with fun and laughter. None of them knew that it would be one of the few afternoons fulled with laughter that they had left.

AN: I forgot that the twins were supposed to have left the house by the trio's third year. Basically, the twins had managed to blow up the flat above the shop that they lived in and had to temporarily stay at the Weasley house until everything was repaired.


	4. Dead Leaves and the dirty ground

AN: So yeah, I'm updating while I'm hiding in my room from the family. But that's okay, writing is way better than cousins.

Chapter 4

Dead Leaves and the dirty ground

The summer had passed far too quickly for Hermione's tastes. The weather was turning cold and herself, Harry and the two youngest Weasley's were getting ready to go back to Hogwarts. Fred and George had moved back into their flat since it was finally fixed but Hermione had already been to visit them, with the rest of the Weasleys and Harry. The joke shop looked amazing, and she had grudgingly complimented them on it, hoping that they wouldn't get too big headed.

While they had been in Diagon Alley, Harry had spotted Draco Malfoy sneaking into Knockturn Alley. He had immediately thought that Malfoy was up to something and insisted that he, Hermione and Ron followed him. They had found Malfoy in a dingy little store doing, what sounded like, a business transaction.

They had returned to the Weasley's, hoping to be unnoticed but Hermione saw George watching them out of the corner of his eye as they crept into the shop. Fred had later quietly came up to her and said, "Don't worry, we distracted them while you guys snuck out."

"Thanks," Hermione whispered back. "I hope you didn't do anything too terrible to them."

Fred chuckled. "No," He said, "But Ginny might not forgive us for a while."

"Fred!" Hermione tried to shove him backwards but he stayed leaning against the shelf. "What did you do to your poor sister?"

"Oh, nothing too harsh." Fred grinned but quickly changed the subject when he saw the glint in her eye. "So… You happy to be going back to Hogwarts?"

"No, not really." She said as she turned to study one of the products on the shelf.

Fred looked shocked. "The famous Hermione Granger isn't excited to go back to Hogwarts? The world must be coming to an end!"

She chuckled. "No, it's not…" She said. "It's just not as interesting as it once was. The class just seems to move at a very slow pace. I can't stand it sometimes."

"Well, considering you could be teaching some of those classes, I'm not surprised." Fred said. "But you never know, things might be better this year."

She glanced at him but before he could elaborate, Mrs. Weasley had called them. The rest of the shopping trip had continued without a hitch and Hermione soon found herself packing in Ginny's room, then boarding the Hogwarts Express.

She had not had another chance to see the twins and she rather regretted it. But, there was nothing that she could do now as she was stuck the prefect's compartment, watching the rain fall onto the windows.

The rest of the prefects were eagerly discussing what they would be doing in the coming year. The head boy and girl had stopped in to give them all pointers and suggestions but they hadn't stayed long. The train trip was turning out to be rather boring. Suddenly, she saw a fat owl struggling to make it's way through the rain. It attempted to get a hold of the window of her compartment.

Hermione quickly slid the window up so the bird could enter. Everyone shivered as the cold wind entered the compartment. The owl was the oddest-looking bird that she'd ever seen. It was mostly grey but had electric blue circles around each eye. It hopped over to her and stuck out its leg so that she could take the letter that was attached to it.

"Hey, that's Fred and George's owl!" Said Ron, "Why's it coming to you?"

Hermione quickly skimmed the letter before tucking it away. "Apparently I left a book at their shop. They just wanted to know if I needed it."

"Why's the owl still here?" Asked one of the other prefects.

"Shame," Hermione defended it. "Let it rest while it's raining out there." The prefects all stared at her. She cleared her throat. "I'm just going to go do the rounds to see if everyone's alright."

She left quickly, sliding the door shut behind her. The owl sat perched on her shoulder and people stared at it as she passed them. She quickly found an empty toilet cubicle and locked herself in it.

She withdrew the piece of parchment from the back of her jeans pocket. Her fingers trembled as she read the words again. It was a way of getting past the floo block the school had put up! She had no idea how Fred and George managed to get a hold of such information but evidentially they did. This was going to make the year a whole lot more interesting!

Hermione had managed to scribble a quick thank you note to Fred and George for the passwords before the train began to pull into Hogsmead station. She forced her way through the throngs of students exiting the train, trying to get back to the prefect's compartment. When she got there, she found that most of the prefects had gone, with the exception of Ron who was waiting for her.

"Hermione! Where've you been? All the carriages have nearly gone up to Hogwarts already!" He said. "And you're not even in your school uniform yet!"

Hermione glared at Ron, "Relax Ron," She said, "I'll put my school cloak over my clothes and no one will notice a difference." He sighed but made no comment. The two hurried out of the carriage as Hermione pulled on her cloak and their trunks levitated behind them. When they were off the train, they noticed that there were only two carriages left. "I wonder where Harry is." She said as she looked around.

"He probably went up to the castle with Ginny or Neville or someone. It's okay, we'll meet up with him there. If we don't get that last carriage, we'll have you walk!" Ron sounded shocked at the concept and the two ran to get in the last carriage.

Hermione and Ron shared an awkward carriage ride up to the castle with a couple of second years. She tried to speak to them but received short, one-word answers and soon gave it up. It wasn't long before they reached the school and to their surprise, found Professor Snape waiting on the top step.

"You were very nearly late." He said maliciously. "I hate tardiness."

"I'm sorry, Professor Snape, it was my fault-" began Hermione but she was soon cut off.

"You're fault, Miss Granger? Snape said. "And yet you still didn't have time to change properly? Now that's a shame…"

Hermione and Ron glanced at each other. "I told y-" he began to say but Hermione quickly stomped on his foot before he could continue.

"I'm sorry, Professor," She said, "It won't happen again."

"Of course it won't happen again," said Snape, "Twenty points from Gryffindor for your muggle attire."

Ron and Hermione gasped and even the second years looked shocked. "But Professor, it wasn't even noticeable!" Hermione argued.

"Talking back, Miss Granger? Would you like me to make it fifty?" Professor Snape looked like nothing would make him happier but Hermione snapped her mouth shut so quickly that Ron could hear her teeth click together.

He grabbed her arm and said, "C'mon, Moine. We're missing the opening feast." Ron attempted to drag Hermione away from Snape while ushering the second years before them. When he knew Snape couldn't hear them he asked, "What's gotten into you, Hermione? Since when do you talk back to the teachers?"

Hermione tugged her arm away from Ron's grip. "Get over it, Ron." She said, "He was just really annoying me."

Ron stared open mouthed after Hermione as she stormed into the great hall. "He always annoys me," Ron muttered. "But is that an excuse for my behavior? Nooo."

Harry arrived late for the opening feast. He quietly whispered how Malfoy had stunned him and that Tonks had found him. He concluded the story with, "Then Snape had to let us in and he STILL took forty point from Gryffindor, for being late and because I wasn't in my uniform!"

Ron chuckled, "See Hermione?," He said, "Snape's not out to get you. He was just grumpy because he had to go fetch Harry."

"What do you mean Snape's out to get Hermione?" Harry asked, glancing between the two of them and looking very confused.

"I never said he was out to get me." Said Hermione as she stabbed at a potato on her plate. "I just said that he was annoying me."

Harry looked closely at Hermione. "What exactly happened?" He asked.

When Hermione didn't answer Ron said, "We were some of the last students to arrive. Snape caught us coming in and took twenty points from Gryffindor because Hermione wasn't in her uniform either."

Harry stared at Ron like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Hermione wasn't in her uniform? Why not?"

"Honestly guys," Said Hermione as she stood up and threw her napkin on the table. "It's not that shocking. I just didn't have time." When the two continued to stare at her, she said, "Well I'm going to bed. Perhaps you'll have come to your senses by tomorrow." She stormed off with the guys looking after her.

"She's different this year." Said Harry.

"Blimey, she's just mental." Ron said as he eyed her left overs. "Would you mind passing me her plate?"

Harry passed the plate over but continued to stare after Hermione as if that would help him figure out what was different about his friend.


End file.
